


Five Times Joker Said Nothing

by HotCocoaMocha



Series: Phantom Pages [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Chronic Pain, Coffee Dad Sakura Sojiro, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Baggage, Fainting, Fever, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Illnesses, Injury Recovery, Light Angst, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Police Brutality, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22310491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HotCocoaMocha/pseuds/HotCocoaMocha
Summary: And the five times he finally said something.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist, Kawakami Sadayo & Persona 5 Protagonist, Persona 5 Protagonist & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Persona 5 Protagonist & Sakura Futaba & Sakura Sojiro
Series: Phantom Pages [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605871
Comments: 4
Kudos: 136





	1. Every Fiber in My Being

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of people tend to favor "Akira Kurusu" or "Ren Amamiya," and personally I really like those names; I'm just using one of the stage names "Hinato Ashida," if only because I like the idea of Haru calling him "Hina-chan," and Futaba "Hina-bro." It just sounds really cute, okay?
> 
> Enjoy~

It started up the day right after they stole Kamoshida's heart.

Hinato could feel it coming, how heavy his limbs felt, how much more exhausted than usual he is even when compared to the others... But he didn't want to stop yet, not even when Morgana pointed out that they plowed through the Palace in a matter of two days, not counting the time it took to form the Phantom Thieves, and reminded him that they have plenty of time to spare. He didn't want to stop when they were so close to the treasure, to the finish line, to ending the students' suffering in spite of his own isolation from them avoiding him, to avenging Shiho...

They sent the calling card the next day, right after securing a route to the treasure. Hinato spent the rest of the day after school resting up as much as he could, even breaking his usual habit of staying up late to study.

Getting to the treasure with the tightened security was nerve-wracking. So was fighting a distorted version of Kamoshida, and that's not even getting into the Palace crumbling, forcing everyone to hoof it to the exit.

His whole body burns with the effort until they crash into the narrow alley in front of Shujin Academy, the MetaNav droning in it's monotone "Thank you for your hard work," as they sit around, catching their breaths. "How's...your leg?" he asks Ryuji in between harsh breathing.

"I'm good." Ryuji slowly manages to stand on his own. "Ann?"

"No problems." Ann glances up at Hinato and frowns. "But he's not looking so good..."

Morgana brushes against Hinato's leg. "Well, he _has_ been taking advantage of his unique power to juggle multiple roles in combat, and we've spent hours exploring the Palace, sent the calling card and stole the treasure in record time, even with a large group as ours. It's a given he's expended so much energy, especially since this is the first time we've ever done this." He, too, frowns at how long Hinato is taking longer to recover. "Still, you've been pushing yourself way more than is necessary... How are you holding up? Any dizziness? Anything that wasn't taken care of?"

Hinato swallows before replying. "Nothing. Just a bit sore. Like you said, I used a lot of energy. I'll be fine with some rest."

Morgana watches him for a second before his frown falls into resigned concern. "If you say so..."

They discuss how to get rid of the treasure (which turned out to be an Olympic medal, only useful for netting thirty thousand yen) before heading home. Sakura-san doesn't say or do so much as nod his head to acknowledge Hinato's presence before going home for the night.

It's not until he's about to go to bed that Morgana speaks up. "Hey..." He looks up at Hinato with those large, soulful blue eyes. "Are you _sure_ you're okay? I've been trying to talk to you during the train ride, but it's like you weren't even there."

_Crap._ "I'm fine," Hinato murmurs. "I'm just...really tired." He goes to sleep without another word.

* * *

From the moment he wakes up to cramps in almost everywhere, he knows Wednesday's going to be _hell;_ but it's Wednesday, and with people scrutinizing his daily life that's on probation, he can't afford an absence in school.

Morgana's saying something, but he can't really focus much beyond the fog in his head and the static in his ears. A small whimper escapes him— _now that's just pitiful_ —as he crawls out of bed. He stumbles over to the desk, body screaming in silent mutiny, and blindly searches with his hand for— _come on, where is it...!?_

Something soft and fuzzy pushes— _there it is_ —an orange and transparent pill bottle...

...and it's empty.

_Fuck me._

"Hinato?"

Hinato plops into the chair, burying his face in his now shaking hands, taking deep breaths and waiting out the pain-induced dizziness. _It's fine. I'm fine. Everything. Is. Fine. It's just one day. Right? I'll be fine. Even though flare-ups can go on for days but you know what? It's fine. Not an emergency... Scale of one to ten, how bad is it...? Around seven? Okay pretty bad but definitely no need to visit a doctor. Besides, medicine's not always the way to go..._

Everything fucking _burns...!_

He goes through the motions, anything to take his mind off the temptation to stay home in bed for the rest of the day. _W_ _here are my clothes, where did I put my umbrella, where the heck are my headphones, I'm fine I'm fine everything fucking **burns** I should have expected this would happen since yesterday but I didn't think it would be this bad fucking stupid ugh— Woah woah woah okay let's calm down first._

" _Hinato._ "

Morgana's watching him from the desk with a frown. "Seriously, what's going on with you?" He sits back, a little more relaxed now that he's got Hinato's attention. "If you're sore and not feeling well from yesterday, just say it and stay home. There's no point in pushing yourself. It's unnecessary."

_Just say it and stay home._ God, that sounds so easy. He can take a sick day and stay home, curl up in bed with Sojiro's warm coffee and read a book, or fall asleep listening to the rain...

He sets his book bag down and motions for Morgana to get in. "'M jus' having an off day, s'all..." Hopefully the aforementioned coffee will perk him up enough to actually speak clearly. "C'mon, I really don't want to be late."

Morgana sighs and shakes his head, but slips into the bag anyway. At the very least, he convinces Hinato to take a painkiller from their Phantom Thief supplies after breakfast. (Even though they made it a rule to save it for their "extracurricular" activities only and _never_ touch it otherwise—"I promise, Hinato, it's just for today.") He's glad he listened, and he's definitely glad he remembered to bring a book to read on the train.

He's not so glad that the painkiller finally wore off. He could ignore Ryuji's invite to hang out, but...distractions are very much needed and appreciated.

Hinato ends up spending the whole time repeating to himself, _don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it..._

"Yoohooooo! Anybody there?" Something cold presses against his forehead, and for some reason it feels more pleasant than it should be. He has to restrain himself from leaning into the cold water bottle lest he make things weird. "You okay, man? Ann told me you've been spacing out all day. Even fell asleep during lunch." Crap, Ann noticed? Hinato always thought no news was good news, but...

_No, I had a flare up and it's still not gone yet._ Too honest. Don't want him to freak out.

_I'm a-okay._ That's a blatant lie. He'll know right off the bat.

"Just tired and sore." Some decent middle ground. This is perfectly fine. "I haven't gone out very much."

Ryuji winces in sympathy. "Ah, yeah, dude." He rests his head on the table. "I totally getcha. Even with all the training I've done, I wasn't prepared to run like my life depended on it."

Hinato twists the cap off his bottle and relishes the cool water flowing down his throat. Oh, _is this one of those flavored mineral water bottles...?_

The rest of afternoon blurs into evening. Hinato spends most of it studying or doing crossword puzzles. He doesn't keep track of the time until another cold drink presses against his hand, startling him out of his head (which is halfway full of cotton).

"Sheesh, you're like my friend's daughter." Sojiro shakes his head tiredly. "It's good to see you're actually keeping up with your studies, but don't give yourself a headache over it all." He makes his way to the door. "I'm closing up. Don't stay up too long, okay?"

A few hours after he closes up shop, Morgana leaps onto the table and firmly places a paw down, on the corner of the page Hinato was about to flip. "You heard the chief. Don't stay up too long."

The bed feels unusually soft as he settles under the blankets, Morgana curling up behind him against his back. There's some shifting before he hears, "Hey..." Hinato hums to let him know he's listening. "You know you can tell us if you're not okay, right? You, me, Ryuji and Lady Ann... We're teammates now. We look out for each other." Morgana purrs before adding, "So if you ever need anything, all you gotta do is ask."

_...I'll try to keep that in mind..._ is what Hinato wants to say, but he drifts off into a merciful slumber.

He wakes up the next morning still feeling as crappy as yesterday, but—and he doesn't know if the thing about cats and their purring having healing effects is real—he feels slightly feels better.

_See? Yesterday wasn't so bad, was it? You can do this. The team doesn't need to worry about this, right?_

_Right._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first time writing a character with chronic pain, and I looked up different sources for symptoms and management; but I've been having trouble finding accounts of people who actually know and can describe what it's like. And I don't mean how they manage the pain, I mean like how the flare up happens: do they sometimes wake up like that? I've heard and read that it can happen out of nowhere, so maybe like when they're in the middle of washing dishes or something? Does it get so bad that they can barely move?
> 
> I want to be as accurate as possible.


	2. Bright Colors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super brief chapter tonight! Nothing much to say here other than it's the usual super bad headache fic.
> 
> Enjoy~

Much like the song that was recently released on YouTunes, _he never saw it coming._

...Well, he sort of saw it, but Madarame's Palace is so bright and colorful that it was almost impossible to notice.

It was in the weird hall with so much gold and the fake Sayuri paintings. At the last test he almost picked the painting that was _so close_ to the real deal, but a few more comparisons helped clear that up.

Then it was in the safe room that was right next to the room they planned to use to get to the treasure. Hinato could have sworn he saw a strangely faint but still colorful haze in front of the monitors...

"Joker, are you feeling all right?" Yusuke observes him, his frown obscured by the fox mask. "You've been acting strange ever since the hall with the fraudulent Sayuri paintings..."

"I was actually thinking about that." Ann glances up worriedly. "It was so bright in there, I wouldn't be surprised if he has a headache, but he seemed really out of it for a while."

Hinato squints. "I'm still here, you know."

"Oh we know, man." Ryuji returns the squint. "But anybody can tell you're the kind of person who doesn't ask for help."

Hinato rolls his eyes, but can't really bring himself to deny that statement.

* * *

He's studying hard for Usami's upcoming quiz, and the next thing he knows, he's in Leblanc's bathroom "praying to the toilet god" (read: puking his guts and brains out). His head is throbbing, the static is back, and he is now realizing that it's Morgana calling out to him from behind the door.

"Hey, are you okay in there? Are you getting sick!?"

Hinato winces at the sharp pitch in his eardrums, which makes his headache— _oh who am I kidding, it's a migraine at this point_ —even worse. _Should I ask him to get another painkiller for me...?_

"Hinato?"

_...Nah, I should save that for the others when we're in the Metaverse._ "I'm fine. I just got a little light-headed." He flushes the bile down the toilet and leans back against the door, closing his eyes from the thankfully dim lighting...

"...Did you see the latest episode of Japan's Funniest Videos?"

He's not sure why Morgana's asking that so suddenly, but he decides to play along. "Mm...no, it must have been during class. Why?"

"It had these dumb videos of different animals getting scared by cats."

It brings to mind that one ITube video of a bear being chased off by a cat, and another one with a crocodile, and Hinato chuckles. "Yeah, that happens apparently."

Morgana keeps up the idle chatter, and Hinato hums, and pitches in his own two yen whenever it seems a reply is expected. He doesn't realize he's nodding off until he hears the other paw at the door. "Hey, can you come out? I'm pretty sure there are better places to sleep than in a bathroom."

Hinato manages to pick himself off the floor, and splashes his face with cold water at the sink. His feline roommate is looking up at him expectantly. "I hope this will be a good lesson about staying up late and studying after a mission."

All Hinato does is smile and mumble that he's fine, and lets himself be ushered into bed. It's not until his head hits the pillow does he realize that the pulsing ache in his head has ceased.

The lesson still doesn't stick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You ever see something so bright it makes your eyes throb and turn that pain into a headache? Yeah, I think at least most of us have been there. I'm amazed that no one thought to bring sunglasses.


	3. Featherweight

Honestly, Niijima's stealth skills are _atrocious._

Once or twice, Hinato had to satiate the strong urge to go back to her just to flip her upside-down book just so it would be upright (call it OCD or whatever). It had been happening for the past few days, and he face-palmed when the student council president pulled out a _porn novel_ this time, of all things. (He recognizes it from an annoying ad online while trying to watch cooking videos—where did she even get that thing, anyway!?)

Despite her genuine wit and intelligence, Niijima turned out to be so unimpressive that Hinato couldn't bring himself to panic (or care) when she called him in to the student council room, and played a recording of Ryuji's very loud voice. He rolled his eyes and sighed heavily when his phone rang and Ryuji _loudly_ called him over for a Phantom Thieve's meeting. The timing was so bad—or, perfect?—that he almost wanted to laugh.

Hinato _will_ admit that the whole thing was pretty irritating, what with Niijima acting all high and mighty... Still, they did get another team member in the process, after the whole fiasco with the real Kaneshiro. They went in, explored the place, sent the calling card, got the treasure, and all they have to do now is chill out and wait for the change of heart to fully come around.

Now if his dizzy spells stopped coming to bite him every now and then, everything would be fine and dandy...

...Why is he staring at the sky again?

"Hinato-kun!? Oh, thank goodness!" Oh...so that chocolate blob is actually Makoto.

Something soft and fuzzy—is that Morgana?—presses against his forehead. "At least Makoto caught you before you hit your head. You don't seem to have a fever, either... Still, do you know where you are right now?"

His eyes flicker around. _Old theater...small grocery shop..._ He squeezes his eyes shut to get rid of that spinning feeling in his head.

"Hinato?"

_Steam, l_ _ike from an onsen...coffee smell..._ "Y—...Yongen...?"

Morgana's tail lashes about. "You seem a little coherent, so that's good."

"Oh dear, is he alright?" An elderly woman approaches with her husband. "Isn't that Hina-chan? He looks so pale."

Makoto fumbles a bit. "Uh, he should be fine! I think he's just tired." "Tired" doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of how Hinato's feeling. "Are you his grandparents?"

The old man chuckles. "No, no. We just happen to frequent the cafe he works at."

Hinato wants to laugh at how flustered Makoto is. "M—my apologies! I'm new around these parts, so..."

"If you need a doctor, you can find a clinic right in front of our theater." The woman points towards their theater. "Just around that corner and up the steps. She's a kind young lady, I'm sure she'll be willing to help."

Makoto bows politely. "Thank you so much!" She turns back to Hinato, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Do you think you can stand?"

He slowly tries to get up, only to fall back on an elbow ( _ow, concrete_ ) from a dizzy spell. "Uh...sort of...?" He feels shaky, unsteady, and his heart seems to be beating faster and harder than it should be. Makoto wraps an arm around him, hooking her other arm under his knees and— "Uh, Makoto...!?" If moving around on his own didn't knock him out again, the idea of being carried bridal-style by one of the strongest girls on the team might do the trick.

Red eyes narrow suspiciously. "You are _much_ lighter than I expected. Maybe _too light..._ "

Hinato swallows hard and looks away. "Y—you can...put me down... _please._ "

Makoto ignores him and marches to the clinic.

* * *

"Dizzy spells, fainting, and on top of that stomach cramps..." Takemi smirks. "What, you on your period with a heavy flow or something?"

Hinato buries his burning face in his hands as Makoto rubs his back in pity.

"That was a joke, of course. But the fainting is cause for concern. I don't see anything else that's wrong, though..." Takemi taps her pen on her clipboard thoughtfully. "Are you sure that's all of his symptoms?"

"Y—yes...?" Makoto scratches her cheek. "I'm quite certain that's all of them."

The doctor studies Hinato for a couple of seconds, before looking back at Makoto. "You said he felt lighter than he should be when you carried him, right?"

"Yes."

She gestures to the exam room. "Take off your shoes. I have a spare set of cotton shirt and pants you can change into."

Next thing Hinato knows, he's standing on a scale that may or may not be damning him right now.

"Hm... You've lost quite a bit of weight over the past few months." Takemi scribbles on her notepad. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Uh..." Hinato can feel Makoto's eyes burning into him. "This morning?"

"Do you eat regularly?"

"...Sometimes I forget about lunch when I'm working on my notes and homework..."

"What about dinner, then?"

Aaaaaaaaaand his words are gone.

"...Hello? I asked you a question." Takemi stares at him with that glint in her eyes.

"...I just go straight to bed once I get home."

"Do you buy yourself anything to eat beforehand?"

"...No." He ducks his head, sensing Makoto _seething_ next to him.

"You said you exercise daily. Do you ever give yourself at least one day for a break?"

"......No."

"Do you at least have proper sleeping habits?"

".........No."

Takemi clicks her tongue in disapproval. "Well, there's your problem, and it's actually pretty simple. You're not sleeping properly, let alone eating, and you're not giving yourself time to recover from physical activities. I get that it helps with your chronic pain, but haven't you learned that overdoing it makes flare-ups more likely to happen? And I'm going to assume the 'forgetting to eat' bit is from stress."

Makoto does a double-take. "Wha— Chronic pain?"

Well, the cat's out of the bag, and it's not Morgana.

He blinks when Takemi lightly bops him on the head with her notepad. "I'm canceling your part-time help for now, but I still want you coming in for weekly check-ups until that number on the scale is satisfactory. Got it? Today, cancel whatever plans you have and get some rest."

"Yes doctor."

"Good boy~" Takemi casually waves them out of the exam room. "Even if you're not on top, use protection anyway. Niijima-kun, be gentle with him, you hear?"

Hinato has never been in such a hurry to get out. From the way Morgana smugly meows suggestively, he definitely overheard that.

Makoto's stealth lessons can wait for another day—he's too embarrassed to be around her right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you're in human anatomy and physiology classes, you start getting a little numb to innuendos and sexual jokes, no matter how vanilla you are. (In no way does that mean I will write what Futaba dubs "hentai." The reproductive system still disturbs [read: _terrifies_ ] me to no end...)
> 
> Anatomy and physiology aside, I hope you enjoyed this chapter~
> 
> And please remember to eat and sleep properly. I've almost been where Hinato has, and it's not a pleasant feeling...


	4. Shut-In Solidarity

Trauma and mental and emotional issues don't go away overnight. Hinato knows that much—hell, he's suffered through that much. So he's not surprised when, on the evening of Medjed's defeat being reported, Futaba sends a few text messages.

> **[Futaba]** Hey, you awake?
> 
> **[Futaba]** Actually, never mind.
> 
> **[Futaba]** It's nothing important.

Hinato stares at his phone before responding, having a good idea of what this is about.

> **[Hinato]** I'm awake. Did you want to talk?

He waits for a few seconds, maybe a full minute, before Futaba replies.

> **[Futaba]** Ugh, this is awkward.
> 
> **[Futaba]** I still don't know...
> 
> **[Hinato]** About what?
> 
> **[Futaba]** Talking.
> 
> **[Futaba]** About...you know...

Yeah. He figured as much.

> **[Hinato]** Really? I think you're off to a good start.
> 
> **[Hinato]** I usually keep quiet about my problems until someone calls me out.
> 
> **[Hinato]** And even then, I have a bad habit of clamming up and brushing them off.
> 
> **[Hinato]** I didn't really like going outside, either.

Maybe it's because they're texting each other, and not face-to-face; or maybe it's because Hinato can sort of relate to Futaba, even when she has it so much worse than he does. Either way, Hinato finds it strangely easier to admit his bad habit through a chat box.

> **[Hinato]** So it's okay. It can feel really awkward at first, but you'll get the hang of it.
> 
> **[Futaba]** You think so?
> 
> **[Hinato]** I know so.

Good lord, he feels like—no, he _is_ a hypocrite for saying such things, especially since he hasn't worked through his own issues yet. But he is still relieved that Futaba is opening up more.

> **[Futaba]** I don't know how to start, though.
> 
> **[Hinato]** Well, how are you feeling right now?
> 
> **[Futaba]** Tired.
> 
> **[Futaba]** Then again, I'm always tired.
> 
> **[Hinato]** Lol that's a big Mood. XD
> 
> **[Hinato]** What else?

A loading bubble appears for a few seconds before Futaba's answer pops up.

> **[Futaba]** Cold.
> 
> **[Futaba]** Well, not cold cold, but alone.

His stomach sinks at the last word.

_Alone..._

It's an awful word. Hinato's every bit the introvert that Futaba is, but he still hates the feeling of being utterly alone.

"Alone" means you're on your own.

No family...

_Damn brat, I'll sue!_

No friends...

_He attacked this man for no reason..._

Not even the kindness of strangers. Sojiro took him in, but even still...

_Cause any trouble, and I'll throw you out!_

Nobody will listen...

_What if he loses it?_

_I heard he carries a knife...!_

_Why's someone like him at our school?_

> **[Hinato]** As in, you feel like you can't go to anyone for help?
> 
> **[Futaba]** Yeah. Something like that.
> 
> **[Futaba]** I know I have a lot of people I can depend on, when I really need help.
> 
> **[Hinato]** But you're not used to it, you're afraid to speak up, or you just don't want to bother them?
> 
> **[Futaba]** Yeah.
> 
> **[Hinato]** And you just want to hide until everything blows over?
> 
> **[Futaba]** That sounds about right.
> 
> **[Hinato]** And sometimes that feeling just comes out of nowhere?
> 
> **[Hinato]** You're fine one moment, and then it just hits you like a freight train.
> 
> **[Futaba]** Yep.

"Alone" means days of silently doubting self-worth; nights of feeling isolated, powerless and dreading the following days; and mornings spent waking up and thinking, "Why do I even bother...?" All while feeling like there's no one to reach out to for help, and no one thinks to even try to help.

_Being alone means there's no one to catch you when you're falling._

All those days of not reaching out have finally led him to a dead end. He doesn't know how to cope, or what to say, because no one has tried to comfort him; and his parents were often so busy, he didn't want to burden them with his own problems.

...That doesn't mean he can't try for Futaba, right?

> **[Hinato]** How about this: any time you feel like crap, you tell me.
> 
> **[Hinato]** Or any of the others.
> 
> **[Hinato]** And we can just vent. All at once.
> 
> **[Hinato]** Form one big cuddle pile or something.
> 
> **[Hinato]** Pet Mona until his fur falls off.

Morgana probably won't be too please with that.

> **[Futaba]** Σ(ﾟДﾟ；) Bald Mona!? Are you kidding?
> 
> **[Hinato]** I will never kid about petting him until he goes bald.
> 
> **[Hinato]** Besides, his fur is so soft, it's impossible to not keep petting him~
> 
> **[Futaba]** Yeah, but there won't be any fur for us to pet if he goes bald!
> 
> **[Hinato]** Ah, true...
> 
> **[Futaba]** But thanks.
> 
> **[Hinato]** For what???
> 
> **[Futaba]** Talking with me at 3 a.m.

Wait, _it's three in the morning...!?_

> **[Hinato]** It's that late!?
> 
> **[Futaba]** LMAO you weren't paying attention?
> 
> **[Hinato]** NO I GOT SCHOOL TOMORROW FUUUUUCK
> 
> **[Hinato]** I feel like I got hit by a train tho.
> 
> **[Futaba]** Ah that's right, you have chronic pain.
> 
> **[Futaba]** Wanna come over to my place and hide?
> 
> **[Hinato]** I WISH but Sojiro would slaughter me. (╥﹏╥)
> 
> **[Futaba]** Oh shit you right fam

For a hot moment, Hinato debates calling in sick so he wouldn't have to go to class...but that would be taking advantage of his condition, and he's not very fond of admitting weakness. He still has some bit of pride to maintain, and he's not about to let it go down the drain because he's whining about his muscles and bones aching.

> **[Futaba]** Thanks, by the way.

Hinato takes full three seconds to register the latest message.

> **[Hinato]** What for?
> 
> **[Hinato]** I'm not sure I did anything worth thanking...
> 
> **[Futaba]** You know, for helping me out.
> 
> **[Futaba]** And for talking with me so late at night.

A smile curves his lips as he taps away on his phone.

> **[Hinato]** Hey, we're former shut-ins. We have to look out for each other.
> 
> **[Hinato]** Anytime you want to talk, just shoot me a text no matter time it is.
> 
> **[Hinato]** Deal?
> 
> **[Futaba]** Deal.
> 
> **[Futaba]** Good night~
> 
> **[Hinato]** Good night.

"You were texting for so long at this hour." Morgana lightly digs his claws into Hinato's arm in disfavor. "What was so important?"

"Futaba." Hinato resettles under the cotton-light blanket. "It was one of _those_ nights."

Morgana instantly stops clawing him, understanding dawning in his big blue eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just have a really hard time sleeping, and then a fun little thing called Life hits you like a freight train, and afterwards you have a _really_ hard time sleeping.


End file.
